This invention relates to air conditioning apparatus in general, and in particular to improvements in air conditioning apparatus wherein a compressor compresses a cooling agent which is thereupon caused to pass into a condenser and from there into an evaporator prior to being returned into the compressor. In particular, the invention relates to improvements in air conditioning apparatus which can be used with particular advantage for conditioning the air in the interior of automotive vehicles.
In my copending allowed application now U.S. Pat. No. 3,852,976, the entire content of which is herein incorporated by reference, I have disclosed an air conditioning apparatus of the general type here in question wherein a stationary support, preferably including a crank shaft, has rotatably mounted on it a rotary compressor device for an evaporable cooling agent. A drive rotates the compressor device, and a condenser device for compressed cooling agent rotates with the compressor device. The crank shaft has a passage receiving cooling agent from the compressor device or from the condenser device for conveying the cooling agent to the expansion valve of an evaporator located in or close to the passenger or driver compartment in an automotive vehicle. The compressor unit comprises a cylinder and a bearing sleeve which is rigid with the cylinder and surrounds the crank shaft and is formed with the passage communicating with the passage of the crank shaft and receiving cooling agent either from the cylinder of the compressor device or from the condenser device. The passage of the bearing sleeve receives cooling agent directly from the cylinder of the compressor device if the latter rotates relative to the condenser device; the passage of the crank shaft then delivers cooling agent to the condenser device and the latter supplies condensed cooling agent to the evaporator which returns vaporized cooling agent to the compressor device. If the compressor device and the condenser device constitute an aggregate which rotates relative to the crank shaft, the compressor device supplies cooling agent directly to the condenser device and the latter supplies condensed cooling agent to the passage of the bearing sleeve for admission into the passage of the crank shaft.
The condenser device in my above-identified invention utilizes one or more tubes which are concentrically wound to form a tubular rotor. The rotor is formed with ribs or fins in form of vanes so as to agitate the surrounding air and provide cooling of the tube convolutions.
This construction is highly advantageous, for the reasons set forth in my aforementioned application. However, I have found that it is possible to make the operation of the device still more effective, and that it is desirable to make the device more economical to construct at the same time, and thus to make the apparatus even more advantageous.